Motte Island is a 2D Flash-based game that cannot be mistaken for a high-end title. However, it’s a fairly ambitious game that incorporates stealth, puzzles, mini-games, and combat into a horror-adventure game.

You play a convicted murderer escaped from prison. As the game begins you are attempting to elude police and make your way back to your old home on Motte Island to save your sister, who you are convinced is in danger through vivid dreams. Once you get to your home town, things seem “off.” And then they get worse.

And worse.

Soon, you find yourself exploring deeper into the island, evading / attacking demons and other nasties with whatever weapons you can find. Stealth is entirely preferable, even if you choose the brute-force approach: attacking an unsuspecting target is far, far easier than a stand-up fight.

The adventure-game elements involve a lot of exploration, hunting for items to overcome challenges, and so forth. Like many other horror games, lighting (or more importantly, darkness) is a big deal, and the source of many of the scares the game serves up. Most of the time, the game is more about creepy than scary. (Note: I had another screenshot I wanted to include, which seemed okay as I was playing the game, but turned out to be so dark as to not be very useful here. Oops. When in motion, though, it looks decent).

From what I’ve played it seems like a mixed bag. Some elements work really well, and others … not so much. But I do have to give it credit for being an admirable freshman effort from developers OneAperture and Gamebell Studio.